From the inside looking in: Tradition and diversity at Texas A&M University
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Date
2009-05-15
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Abstract
This study explores how the unique history, culture, and traditions of Texas
A&M University shape students’ perceptions and understandings of diversity and
diversity programs. I examine these issues through participant observation of Texas
A&M’s football traditions and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with members of the
student body.
In response to increased media scrutiny, public pressure, and scholastic
competition, the current administration has embraced a number of aggressive initiatives
to increase diversity among members of the student body. The collision between
decades of tradition and the administration’s vision for the future has given rise to
tension between members of the student body and the administration, which I argue is
due, at least in part, to the culture that began developing at Texas A&M during the
middle of the twentieth century as students began reacting to the prospect of change. I
conclude that this historical and cultural context continues to impact modern campus life
through students’ dedication to tradition. In addition, I suggest that current students tend to assign different meanings and
values to the concepts of both tradition and diversity than either faculty members or
administrators do, creating tensions that have not been comprehensively examined or
understood within the context of the Texas A&M community. Based on these findings, I
suggest that proponents of diversity can improve the diversity project at Texas A&M
University by giving students more responsibility for diversity programs, emphasizing
the process (rather than the results) of diversification, attempting to eradicate all forms
of intolerance and injustice on campus, and insisting on a policy of mutual respect.
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Keywords
tradition, diversity, Texas A&M University